Dear Sir,

Whatever is going on in Bermuda’s schools, it is not working.

Parents are frustrated and, looking to the rest of the world to compare policies, we do not like what we see.

Cayman Islands, with a similar population and number of hospital beds, is putting us to shame again.

Although its border was closed for much longer, it was reopened this school year. Students do wear masks on the school bus and in communal areas and hallways. But they do not wear them at their desks or during indoor PE. They do not wear them during lunchtime play.

All after-school activities are scheduled as normal.

They do not quarantine students if negative, but use antigen tests to keep students in school.

These are policies that we should be emulating.

Are they vaccinating more students than us? No. They receive their vaccines from Britain, too, but confirm on their government website that they are bound by British policy. This means that they offer boosters to only those 18 years and older or those 16 years and older that are immunocompromised, subject to medical advice. They do not yet give boosters to those aged between 12 and 15 years, and certainly not to avoid travel or school close-contact quarantines.

And even though Bermuda parents would be thrilled to have sensible policies such as these with no interruptions in schooling, a full programme of activities and sport, and optimum learning mask-free at their desks, they are already planning to review the testing and masking requirements as soon as they start rolling out the new 5 to 11-year-old vaccines within the next week.

Whatever is going on in Bermuda’s schools, it is not working.

The question is, what is going on?

KATIE GARSIDE

Smith’s

Us For Them Bermuda